Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/34417
KM STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE WHILE LEGAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT THRIVES Knowledge Management Purpose To create “actionable information” Overall Goal More efficient work methods, higher quality work product and reduced risk Methods Software implementation, content development and maintenance Biggest Hurdle Behavioral change/ change management Parties Responsible Professional support lawyers, “KM team,” librarians Legal Project Management To provide structure and the efficient execution of work Process Improvement To optimize production processes by reducing costs and eliminating defects More efficient work methods More efficient work methods Training, tool development and deployment Behavioral change/ change management The matter-responsible lawyer or his or her “first lieutenant.” Business Driver Internal External Analysis of existing work processes, identification of process improvement opportunities Behavioral change/ change management Consultants, whether internal or external External improvement involves a much deeper dive into the analysis of existing work processes. So if legal project management and process improvement are the wave of the future, how does KM fit into the picture? The answer, it seems, is this: KM needs to provide the underpinning of LPM, providing a just-in-time approach. It can also act as the research and development department to provide different options to the project team. The basic concepts behind KM were valid; stop reinventing the wheel, capture what we know as a firm before people leave or retire, exploit that knowledge to gain a business advantage and ultimately be more efficient. But KM in a law firm has too often become a back-office function — a department, not a culture — adjunct to either IT or professional development. Moving forward, KM professionals need to not merely align themselves, but be joined at the hip with project management and process improvement initiatives to form an integrated practice support function, delivering a “whole firm” approach to any given client issue. That’s easy to say, but what does this mean in reality? Any project management or process improvement initiative needs to start at a practice group level, by identifying the types of work undertaken: Is it project or process or a combination of both? Target clients that are open to discussion around value need to be identified. (This is usually not too hard since www.iltanet.org Knowledge Management 51